PMD: Song of A Crimson Moon
by animatedrose
Summary: Akai is a red Espeon from the Eon tribe serving under Madame Misdreavus and General Houndoom. Seeing the Crimson Moon on a dark night, she remembers the Rescue Team they fought only days ago. Will she ever see them again and be rescued, or die waiting?


Hey, everyone! Once again, it seems I have caught the Pokemon-oneshot-writer's bug and I have been writing oneshots like crazy! This one just randomly popped into my head through a combination of listening to music for hours on end and reading Felix the Eeveetrainer's profile. The Espeon featured in this story is one that has mysteriously found her way into most of the PMD fics I have written but never finished and uploaded here on FF. I hope you like her and this story!

PMD: Song of A Crimson Moon

The forest was quiet that night. Silver shafts of moonlight cut through the darkness, peaking through the gaps in the canopy to illuminate the grass below. A dark lake was turned beautiful silver the moment the moon broke free of the clouds. It was a world of black, green, silver...and red. Seated by the very edge of the strange forest was an Espeon, blood red in color with a spiked black collar around her throat. Her name was Akai Eon, the last of her family line.

Resting nearby was a large Houndoom and a pack of Houndour. They slept under the full moon's light, resting after a long day of traveling across the mountains and through the forest. The Houndoom, General Houndoom, was leading his pack far away from Pokemon Square and its surrounding regions. Those were the orders Madame Misdreavus gave him.

Madame Misdreavus was a strange creature, rarely appearing before her minions unless danger was afoot. She had appeared three nights ago to inform them of a certain Rescue Team trying to destroy her plans and ordered their demise. General Houndoom and his Houndour army met them in battle...and were defeated.

Akai, hoping for freedom at last, had temporarily joined forces with the Rescue Team and accompanied them as a friend. Unfortunately, General Houndoom filled the team's heart with doubt of her loyalty and eventually caused her to be forced out. She was immediately recaptured by Houndoom and forced into their plans. They only wanted her for her powers and her voice.

Akai sighed, staring at her reflection in the water's silvery surface. "Why do I have to be the host of these powers?" she whispered, ears lowering in sadness. "It is not fair! Why must I be cursed to follow my grandfather's path? Why?"

In the Eon family, every other generation contained at least one red Eevee known as the Celestial One, an Eevee destined to become the Guardian of the Moon. The Guardian of the Moon was the alias of the Espeon in the tribe, which had dwindled down to only a handful of cubs every generation. This time, she had been the only Espeon...and the last of the Eon tribe to be born.

A terrible plague had eradicated the rest of the tribe, leaving Akai as the only survivor. She had attempted to save both her mother and her little sister, only to watch powerlessly as they died in her paws. Not long afterwards, Madame Misdreavus recruited her with the promise to revive her tribe and break the cursed placed upon her. But the Ghost-type had lied, enslaving Akai in order to have complete control of her powers. The Espeon had been such a fool back then.

Then it became worse as the years went by. General Houndoom forced her to evolve, having heard the legends of the Guardian of the Moon and the Celestial Ones. The moment she had evolved, Akai attempted to kill herself by jumping off a cliff. She discovered why the red Eevee were called Celestial Ones. They could not die by normal means.

Akai eventually gave up on ending her life. It was apparent that she could not die and, even if she did find a way, her masters would not allow her to escape them through death. The Espeon sighed, looking up at the moon. "Why me, Arceus? Why me?" she whispered.

"You're still up, Akai?" General Houndoom grunted, lifting his head from his paws. "Good. Mind singing me a song?"

She sighed again and stood up. "Yes, sir,"

It became a kind of ritual between the two of them. She would stay up all night and when the General would awaken around midnight, she would sing him a song from her tribe to lull him to sleep again. Ironically, it was this very ritual that kept Akai from going insane.

She stared at the moon and began to sing. She sang of beautiful sunny meadows and gentle breeze blowing through one's fur, of the elder's ancient tales and the games children played together, of rainy days and moonlit nights in summer, of a thousand things she could remember vaguely of her life in the tribe. These songs were her final memories of the Eon tribe.

As her song ended, she heard the soft snoring of General Houndoom and relaxed. Then she saw the moon above her. It had turned a deep crimson color, almost as if someone had resting their injuries against it before carrying on, leaving their blood to stain it. She felt even more at peace upon seeing it. Akai remembered the tales of the Crimson Moon the elders once told her of.

"_Elder Bellamy, can you tell us a story?" Akai, only a young red Eevee, asked._

_Bellamy, an old Jolteon missing his entire left ear and crippled in one of his back paws, perked his ear upon hearing the request. "Of course, young Akai," he nodded. 'Which one should I tell this time, younglings?"_

_Shawanna, a beautiful Glaceon and Bellamy's mate, turned toward them with a smile. "How about you tell them of the Crimson Moon, darling?" she suggested. "I haven't heard you tell that tale in years."_

"_Ah, yes. That one I remember as clear as day." Bellamy sat up a bit straighter, a pose he used when preparing to tell one of the old tales. About ten or fifteen other young Eevee quickly bounded toward him, recognizing the posture of the elder, and sat in a circle around him to hear the story. Even a few of the adults came closer to hear the story._

"_What's a Crimson Moon, elder Bellamy?" one young Eevee, Minerva, asked. She happened to be Akai's cousin and her closest friend._

"_The Crimson Moon is a natural phenomenon that occurs once every year, though the time changes so it never occurs at the same time it did the previous year." Bellamy explained. "I saw one nearly seven years ago and never saw it again. It appears over a certain place in our world each year."_

"_So, it was over our village seven years ago?" Mbita, a troublesome Eevee that always teased Akai, asked in awe. "Do you think it will be over the village this year?"_

"_Maybe, Mbita," Shawanna cut in. "Nobody knows exactly where it will appear each year, so it was a big surprise when we saw it all those years ago."_

"_Awesome!" Mbita cried. "I want to see the Crimson Moon!"_

"_Maybe you will one day," Bellamy chuckled. "Anyhow, legend says that if you see the Crimson Moon when you are with a loved one, you'll be destined to marry each other. But even if you're not with a loved one, seeing it means you are destined for great things in life."_

"_Bellamy proposed to me the instant we saw it, you know!" Shawanna laughed._

"_Oh, hush now! I was getting to that!" Bellamy whined._

_The residents of the village laughed at Bellamy and Shawanna as the duo fought, but it died not long afterward as adults returned to their daily lives around the village. As the young Eevee returned to the fields to play, Akai stayed behind. "Elder Bellamy?"_

"_Yes, youngling?" the Jolteon asked._

"_How many times has the Crimson Moon shone over the village?"_

"_You want to see it, eh?"_

"_Of course I do!"_

"_Well, it is only rumor but the Crimson Moon seems to appear every ten years over this village."_

"_Really?"_

"_Of course!" Bellamy nodded. "If you're lucky, you'll see it one day. If you do, just remembered these words: As the Blood Moon rises, good luck is granted to the first one to see it. Search far and wide but only those not seeking it shall find it."_

"_You mean I'll find it if I don't go looking for it?" Akai asked._

"_Precisely!"_

Akai smiled softly. It has been nearly thirteen years since her tribe's destruction and she finally found the Crimson Moon. "As the Blood Moon rises, good luck is granted to the first one to see it. Search far and wide but only those not seeking it shall fine it." She looked at her reflection and saw the moon hovering just behind her head.

A single tear ran down her cheek and fell, landing in the center of the reflection and sending ripples across the lake's surface. "Can you see it, elder Bellamy?" Akai whispered. "Can you see the Crimson Moon like I can from God's domain? If you can, I hope you are happy. If good luck is granted to me, I wish for you to have it instead. I do not deserve such a thing. I never will after all the horrible acts I have committed weighing me down like stone bricks resting on my shoulders."

Memories flashed through Akai's mind. Madame Misdreavus offering to bring her family back. The rough training she had to endure under General Houndoom's command. Her first kill, a tiny Pidgey just leaving the nest. The realization of Misdreavus' lie. Her first encounter with the Rescue Team and the battle that had ensued, nearly ending in one of the members' deaths. Her escape from Misdreavus and her search for redemption in Pokemon Square. All of the adventures with the Rescue Team before they eventually threw her out in fear for themselves.

More tears poured down her furry red cheeks. "Why me, Arceus? Why must you curse me like this? If you hate me, then allow me to die!"

As she jumped into the lake, she heard the alarmed barks of the Houndour as they heard the splash. She ignored them, allowing herself to sink deeper into the lake. Just as darkness covered her vision, she felt teeth attach to her scruff and slowly pull her to the surface. As she burst into the open air, she coughed out the water as she was pulled on shore. Lying on her back, she heard whispers above her.

"Hey, are you okay? Akai? Akai!"

Opening her eyes, the red Espeon found herself face to face with the leader of the Rescue Team. A young Eevee by the name of Twilight, if memory served her correctly. Beside her was a Pikachu named Bolt, Twilight's lifelong partner and friend. Rescue Team Eon Thunder had returned for her!

"Are you okay, Akai?" Twilight asked.

"What were you thinking, you idiot? You could've died!" Bolt scolded. "Do you know how worried we were?"

"Where is...General..." Akai coughed, unable to finish her sentence.

"If you mean dog breath, we beat him and his army up...again!" Bolt replied. "Akai, we came back to ask for forgiveness. I'm sorry we kicked you out. Twilight and I were scared, you know, and..."

"No words can express how sorry we are, Akai. Please, forgive us!" Twilight begged. "I want you to rejoin our team! We can't bring your family back but...if you want, you can be a part of our family."

Akai was speechless. "...Why?"

"You seem to hate being alone, Akai." Bolt commented. "You came right back to dog breath the moment we left you."

"I didn't come back by choice, he poke-napped me." Akai replied. "Yes, I forgive you. Please let me be a part of your team once more. I wish to be part of a family, even if it isn't mine. Please..."

Twilight smiled. "Of course you can, Akai! Welcome to Team Eon Thunder!"

"Thank you!" Getting up, the trio returned to Pokemon Square. As they rested in their nests, Akai stared up at the Crimson Moon a final time before closing her eyes. _Thank you, Arceus. You have granted me god luck and allowed me to rejoin the only other family I have remaining. For that, I thank you._

As the moon shined high above the Rescue Team Base on the outskirts of Pokemon Square, a small pink catlike Pokemon floated in front of the Crimson Moon. It was Mew watching over Akai. "Your wish was granted, Akai. I brought your friends to you and now you are happy. I hope you can learn how a Pokemon should truly live. Live and help defeat your old masters!" Turning, he teleported away. "I'll also give Arceus your thanks."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you enjoyed this oneshot of PMD1. Please review!


End file.
